Supreme Court of Virginia - Procedure

Procedure

The court meets for five-day sessions beginning in September and continuing every seventh week thereafter until the completion of the June docket. All sessions are held in Richmond. During the six-week recess between each session, the justices conduct extensive legal research upon the cases awaiting decision, draft and review opinions, study cases in which petitions for appeal have been filed, conduct hearings on petitions for appeal, and attend to administrative duties.

In Virginia, appellate review before the Supreme Court is a two step process in most cases. First, a petition is filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court. Petitions are then assigned to a law clerk or staff attorney for research and further preparation. Oral arguments are heard before a panel of three justices. In a limited number of cases, oral arguments may be heard by the Chief Staff Attorney who then presents the case to a panel of three justices for decision. The justices conduct a thorough review on the merits of each case with the assistance of memoranda summarizing the facts and basic issues of each appeal prepared by a law clerk or staff attorney. One justice may grant an appeal, even if the other two justices do not concur. Usually, three justices must concur before an appeal is denied (in rare cases, two justices may consider a case for which there has been no oral argument to the Court or which is being dismissed for procedural reasons). If the petition is denied, the appeal process ends (except that the appellant may request a rehearing) and the judgment of the lower court is affirmed. If the petition is granted, the second phase of the appeal proceeds with eventual argument of the cases before the full court.

During the second phase of an appeal and before each session of the court, the Clerk forwards to each justice a copy of the printed docket showing the cases to be heard at that session, together with a copy of the printed record and briefs filed in each case. This allows each justice to study the cases before they are argued orally.

A rotation system is used in designating the justices who are to prepare the opinions of the court. Prior to each session of the court, the assignment of the cases is determined by lot. Seven slips of paper are prepared by the Clerk of the Court with one slip bearing the number "I" and the remainder being blank. The slips are placed in a hat, and the member of the court (or a proxy) drawing the marked paper writes opinions in the first, eighth, and fifteenth, etc., cases on the docket. The justice immediately below him/her in seniority is responsible for the second, ninth, and sixteenth cases, and so on until all cases are assigned.

Sessions are held in the Courtroom of the Supreme Court with the justices being seated on the bench in order of seniority. The Chief Justice is seated in the center with the justice next in seniority on his right, the justice third in seniority on his left, and so on in alternating order such that the newest justice is seated on the far left. Attorneys for both sides are usually allowed fifteen minutes each to present their arguments. The justices often interrupt the attorneys to ask questions on some issue in the case. During a typical session of the court, the justices hear oral arguments each morning and convene that afternoon for a private discussion of the cases heard that morning. The member responsible for writing the opinion directs discussion of the case by asking the justice seated at the conference table to the right for comments on the case. The justices then proceed to comment in turn with the member designated to write the opinion speaking last. This discussion and debate provide the opinion writer guidance in preparing an opinion reflecting the views of a majority of the justices. Once a justice has completed a draft of his opinion, copies are circulated to the other members of the court and the Court Reporter. Opinion conferences are held prior to the beginning of each session. At this time, the justices conclude their review of the cases and the draft opinions receive final approval. Opinions are made public on the last day of each session of the court and are published in the Virginia Reports.